Blog

Collision rates in Portland attributed to braking practices and the impulsivity of human drivers.

At the beginning of the month, an article in the print edition of the Oregonian titled “Portland needs a crash course in safe driving”, suggested that Portland drivers who have gone seven years between auto collisions should feel lucky. The article cites new analysis by Allstate insurance company showing that Portlanders are in a collision (on average) every 6.9 years. This is roughly , one accident every 10 years.

The article outlined the top five large cities with the safest drivers in the United States: (1) Kansas City, Kansas; (2) Brownsville, Texas; (3) Boise, Idaho; (4) Fort Collins, Colorado; and, (5) Cape Coral, Florida. Unfortunately, Portland, it is safe to say, is far from one of the cities with the safest drivers. It ranks 183 out of 200.

Certainly, there is much in the story to support Chris Urmson, of Google's driverless cars initiative's opinion on the impulsivity of human drivers. At least part of the reason for Portland's poor ranking as a safe driving city, is Portlanders unfortunate habit of slamming on the brakes which they do more often than drivers in other large U.S. cities.

An effect of this, according to the article, is that high collision rates in Portland are translating into higher insurance premiums – even for the safest among Portland drivers.

It's not that we like being the bearer of bad news, but we do like to share information with everyone in an effort to keep the roads as safe as possible!

Share

About the Author

Brad Thayer is a partner at the Schauermann Thayer firm. Brad is licensed in both Oregon and Washington. He has been practicing law since 2015. He was presented the 2018 Rising Star Award by the Clark County Bar Association. Brad's practice focuses on automobile collision, motorcycle, bicycle, pedestrian injury, dog bite, and myriad other types of injury and insurance cases. During his free time, Brad enjoys following the Portland Trail Blazers, playing basketball, going to concerts, and playing the drums. He especially enjoys hiking in the Columbia River Gorge and exploring other Northwest wonders.

Comments

Leave a Comment

Topics

Contact Our Firm

The use of the Internet or this form for communication with the firm or any individual member of the firm does not establish an attorney-client relationship. Confidential or time-sensitive information should not be sent through this form.